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Please note that:1. The government is still the welfare provider of last resort. If your super money runs out during your retirement, you move onto the standard Old Age Pension, fully funded by government. But the standard Old Age Pension is NOT a lot of money. It really is a last resort.

2. Australia has never really had corporate pension funds like the US, or government "social security" entities. Pensions are funded out of general revenue. That is, out of normal taxes.

Obama's prospects look good, though it is hard to say how much that mean at this early date. Unfortunately I don't think he will be able to do anything radical, even if he wins an overwhelming victory. The separation of powers that is the basis of the American government prevents that, as it was designed to. I fear we will not solve our financial problems with any radical new ideas; I assume we will just debase our currency in the traditional way.

Obama's prospects look good, though it is hard to say how much that mean at this early date. Unfortunately I don't think he will be able to do anything radical, even if he wins an overwhelming victory. The separation of powers that is the basis of the American government prevents that, as it was designed to. I fear we will not solve our financial problems with any radical new ideas; I assume we will just debase our currency in the traditional way.

Better that, than what Obama would do, which is violate our Constitution and destory our liberty.

Regardless of what Obama may or may not do, we are already living under a president who is violating the Constitution and destroying our liberty.

Yes, in some ways. What really bothers me is that when Bush violates the Fourth or Fifth Amendment, people run around like it's the end of the world. But when a Democrat violates the Second or Tenth, they shrug their shoulders and say, "well, the Constitution is over 200 years old and it's a living document." I would ask if a little honesty and consistency is too much to ask for, but I already know the answer (not speaking of you here, since you've said nothing along these lines; just speaking generally)

I'll preface my comments by saying that I enjoy guns. I'm not a hunter, but a nice afternoon of target shooting is very relaxing...Now, just because a law is passed that limits gun ownership does not mean that the 2nd Amendment has been violated. "Well regulated" means there will be regulations. Congress can restrict the types of weapons that people can own. If you don't believe that then you believe that people should be allowed to own nuclear weapons. So at this point it's simply a matter of where to draw

just because a law is passed that limits gun ownership does not mean that the 2nd Amendment has been violated

Sure. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. But when the policies have the effect of preventing people from being armed, then that IS a violation of the Second Amendment, in my self-esteemed opinion;-).

I view it similarly to speech time/manner/place restrictions on speech. Any speech restrictions on time, manner, and place must (apart from being content-neutral) a. serve an important government interest, and b. that interest must be served by the regulation (apart from the speech's message); c. the regulat

It says give people arms, because you need a militia... that should be regulated.

So should the right to own a guns be tied to participation in a militia? Or an implicit right for them to call you up for $stuff when they need volunteers?

There also seems to be the problem of scale.

There's a natural desire to limit the guns to personal weapons, which in my view puts applies limitations like we have in Australia (with regards to types of weapons you can own, if you have a license).

Bolt/Lever action large bore rifles, semi-auto small bore "vermin" rifles (.22 and similar), no full auto rifles (we also prohibit hand guns outright, but that's a different issue).

And yet the justification for HAVING the guns seems to be military. Not so that you can protect yourself, but so that when they need to raise a militia you've already got (military grade?) weapons.

From a legal standpoint, it seems an ugly and inelegant law to be stuck with.

It says give people arms, because you need a militia... that should be regulated.

So should the right to own a guns be tied to participation in a militia?

No. It is clear that this was just one of the many reasons the people who wrote, voted on, passed, and ratified the Amendment thought that the right to bear arms should be preserved. (Indeed, many people thought that the Second Amendment was not even necessary, because OF COURSE we have a right to bear arms!)

Or an implicit right for them to call you up for $stuff when they need volunteers?

If you mean can military service be coerced: no.

From a legal standpoint, it seems an ugly and inelegant law to be stuck with.